Rookie K-9 helps Troy Police nab city man in home burglary

TROY >> Thanks to the efforts of a Troy Police officer and his rookie K-9 partner, a Troy man is in Rensselaer County Jail after a 10-year-old child reported that a burglary was happening at his home.

Shannon Lee Bruce, 44, of 2421 Sixth Ave., is charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, petty larceny, and fourth degree attempted grand larceny. He was remanded to the county jail without bail. Bruce is also wanted on an active parole warrant.

At approximately 8:40 a.m. Friday, Troy Police were dispatched to an address on Euclid Avenue for a reported burglary. The child, who was home alone at the time, had heard noise at the rear of his home, police said, and, upon checking further, he saw an intruder in the kitchen.

Police said the suspect had broken in the rear door with a hammer and was gathering property to steal from the home when he realized he had been discovered. The child then called 911 and gave police a description of the intruder.

When police arrived, the suspect was gone. Patrols were deployed throughout the neighborhood in search of the suspect while Troy Police rookie K-9 Obie and his partner surveyed the home’s perimeter. Discovering a set of faint footprints outside the back door, Officer Craig Faby put Obie’s nose to work, obtaining a scent and an active trail. Obie, with his partner in tow, police reported, eventually stopped at a home on the 40 block of Euclid Avenue.

Faby saw a broken window in the rear of the home and evidence that someone may have forced their way in. Additional units responded and began a search of the building. Police located the suspect in a closet covered with clothes in an effort to avoid capture. Police said the suspect resisted arrest and sustained minor injuries during the incident, which received immediate treatment. No officers were injured.